英語新聞一點通：利比亞反政府抗爭引發內戰 @ 【精英翻譯】的部落格

Rebellion Brings Libya to the Edge of War

First there was Tunisia and then Egypt. Now, the storm of popular protest in the Middle East has reached Libya. The country has been ruled by Colonel Gaddafi, a dictator, for the past forty years. However, his rule is now threatened. Waves of rebellion against his government have brought the country to a standstill. In response, Gaddafi has ordered the army to attack the protestors.

The situation is getting worse every day. Important government officials have refused to carry out Gaddafi’s orders to attack the protestors. Others have joined the rebels. This includes the defence minister and Libya’s foreign diplomats. The rest of the world has unanimously withdrawn support from the dictator. Even so, Gaddafi seems determined to hold onto power. Many observers think that a tsunami of violence could wash across the country if a full civil war develops.

利比亞反政府抗爭引發內戰

繼突尼西亞和埃及之後，襲捲中東地區的抗爭風暴已延燒至利比亞。獨裁者格達費統治利比亞超過四十年，然而，他的政權正受到威脅。一波又一波的反政府抗爭已使該國陷入停頓，格達費卻下令軍隊向示威者展開鎮壓。

利比亞境內的武裝衝突愈演愈烈，重要的政府官員，包括國防部長與利比亞的外交官，都加入了抗爭的行列，並拒絕執行格達費指示攻擊示威者的命令。全球各國皆一致撤除對於獨裁者的支援，即便如此，格達費仍執意繼續掌權，許多觀察家擔憂一旦內戰全面爆發，暴力事件可能會如海嘯般淹沒利比亞。

字彙

Rebellion 反抗；動亂
dictator 獨裁者
threaten 威脅
standstill 停滯不前
unanimously 一致地
withdraw 撤除
civil war 內戰

解讀

Writers often compare public unrest to violent natural events. Here, the writer uses ‘storm’ and two sea metaphors, ‘waves’ and ‘tsunami’, to describe the way protestors have attacked their governments.

作者經常將動亂比喻為嚴重的天災，本篇文章中，作者使用「暴風雨」與另外兩個與「海」相關的比喻－「波浪」及「海嘯」以形容示威者反抗政府的行為。

文句練習

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文句練習解答